Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls is a 2006 musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006 before its nationwide release on December 25, 2006. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name by composer Henry Krieger and lyricist/librettist Tom Eyen, Dreamgirls is a film à clef of the histories of the Motown record label and one of its acts, The Supremes. The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit, Michigan girl group known as "The Dreams" and their manipulative record executive. Plot Detroit, the early 1960s. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. When Early flames out, Curtis makes the Dreamettes into headliners as the Dreams, but not before demoting their hefty big-voiced lead singer, Effie White, and putting the softer-voiced looker, Deena Jones, in front. Soon after, he fires Effie, sends her into a life of proud poverty, and takes Deena and the Dreams to the top. How long can Curtis stay there, and will Effie ever get her due? Trivia Loretta Devine, who plays the jazz singer in the wake scene, created the role of Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" in 1981. Actor Hinton Battle, who plays Curtis' aide Wayne, was also a replacement for the role of James "Thunder" Early in the original production. Beyoncé Knowles auditioned in full costume and performed with choreography. She has said she considers this her first film as an actress. After the original stage production proved successful, the film version went through several incarnations. In the late 1980s Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Deena, but negotiations fell through when Houston insisted that Deena sing some of Effie's songs, specifically, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", as well. In the early 1990s, after the success of What's Love Got to Do with It, Joel Schumacher was set to direct, with Lauryn Hill set to play Deena and Kelly Price to play Effie. However, after the box-office failure of several other musical biopics, the project was again shelved. After the success of Chicago, the producers approached Bill Condon, who had long considered an adaptation his dream project. Bill Condon scheduled "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" as the last scene to give Jennifer Hudson the most time possible to grow into her character. Both Will Smith and Terrence Howard were considered for the role of Curtis Taylor, Jr. Singer Usher Raymond was the first choice for the role of C.C. White, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. R&B singer Omarion Grandberry was also briefly considered before Keith Robinson was cast. Bill Condon attended the opening night performance of the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" at the Imperial Theatre, New York City, on December 20, 1981. The original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" opened at the Imperial Theater on December 20, 1981, ran for 1521 performances and was nominated for the 1982 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Score and won for the Best Book of a Musical. Jennifer Hudson gained twenty pounds to play the role of Effie White. Jennifer Hudson beat out 782 other actresses for the role of Effie White, including her former American Idol rival Fantasia Barrino. Jamie Foxx initially declined to play Curtis Taylor Jr. because the salary offered was insufficient. Denzel Washington was offered the part after Foxx, but declined because he cannot sing. Once Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy were attached to the production, Foxx rethought his decision and accepted the role. Shipped to theaters under the code name "Drama". In the scene where "The Dreams" stand in front of a huge replica of their first album entitled "Meet The Dreams", the cover art is an almost identical replica of The Supremes 1965 album called "More Hits by the Supremes". On the other hand, the photos of "The Dreams" on that cover are near identical poses from another Supremes album from 1966 called "The Supremes A Go-Go". The jokes that Bobby Slayton tells in the Miami night club were taken verbatim from Don Rickles's 1968 album "Hello, Dummy!" Effie walks in with an album on "Rainbow Records," Martin Luther King's "Great March To Freedom", recorded in Detroit, June 23, 1963. This is one of the few real record covers in the movie; it was released as Gordy 906, a Motown label. Anika Noni Rose had to wear 6-inch heels while filming the title musical number to appear in frame with Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson. Rose is 5'2", Knowles is 5'7", and Hudson is 5'9". Effie (Jennifer Hudson) is supposed to be older than Michelle (Sharon Leal). In real-life Leal is 9 years older than Hudson. Beyoncé Knowles lost weight during a break in filming to make herself look older for the more mature Deena Jones. Bill Condon instructed Jennifer Hudson to show up late on set every day to better understand Effie's diva behavior. Sheryl Lee Ralph was nominated for the 1982 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Musical for "Dreamgirls". Obba Babatundé was nominated for the 1982 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actor in a Musical for "Dreamgirls" for his portrayal of C.C. White. Cleavant Derricks won the 1982 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actor in a Musical for "Dreamgirls" for his role as soul singer James Thunder Early. When Curtis tells the girls that they're going to be their own act, he says that he's gotten Jolly Jenkins to do their choreography. This is a reference to Cholly Atkins, the famous tap-dancer (part of the tap-dancing duo of Coles and Atkins), who did most of the choreography for The Supremes. The film was Eddie Murphy's first for Paramount since Vampire in Brooklyn. Murphy formerly had an exclusive contract with the studio. During the Christmas party scene, Teddy Campbell is listening outside the room where Deena, Curtis, Michelle, CC, Jimmy, and Lorrell are listening to the recording of "Patience." Curtis's Aunt Ethel tells Teddy to get back to the party. Teddy answers, "I'm waiting for Deena." This is a reference to the close friendship between Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. This is the only film to ever lead in the number of nominations in a particular year (in this case eight) at the Academy Awards but receive no Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The character "Effie" was originally created for Nell Carter in 1978 when the original stage show was in it's experimental stages as "Project Number 9." Audio tapes of Carter rehearsing numbers such as "One Night Only" still exist in bootleg form and are constantly recirculated. In one scene, Curtis forces the Dreams to record "Heavy" as a riot rages outside in the streets of Detroit. This is a references to the 1967 Detroit riot, during which Motown's studios remained semi-operational. Spike Lee considered directing the film in the early 90s with Jasmine Guy as Deena Jones. Box office The movie grossed $103,338,338. Henry's copy Henry has the 2007 DVD of this movie from DreamWorks Home Entertainment. It has previews of Shrek the Third and Norbit. The special features on it are extended musical numbers, and the music video for Listen.